Carl & Enid: Chocolate Pudding
by JenniferC16
Summary: Recovering from his gunshot wound, Carl is withdrawn and quiet. Can Enid pull him out of it and make him smile?


Carl sat on the porch overlooking the yards of Alexandria. It had been a month since he was shot by Ron and his eye was still bandaged. He would get dizzy if he stood too fast and had headaches. Carl groaned just thinking about the word 'headaches'. It was a constant drumming in his head that just would not stop. Denise said that the wound was healing quickly and that he'd be able to start going out more but Carl didn't care. He had become withdrawn and quiet. His already small and thin frame had become even smaller and he was eating less.

It was sunny and other Alexandrians were out and about, repairing the damage from the walker overrun and keeping watch. He could hear some of them laughing and joking around. He scowled at the sound. Why were they so happy? What did they have to be happy about?

"Hi, Carl!", Enid cheerfully said, walking up and stopping at the bottom of the stairs. He looked at her and quietly said, "Hi".

He was envious of her happy demeanor. She had changed so much over the last month, no longer angry at everyone and depressed. She was outgoing, volunteering first for anything and she was over at the Grimes' house often, babysitting Judith and watching over Carl, giving Rick and Michonne a break at times.

"I was just going to walk the perimeter and check for any breaks in the fence. Do you want to come along?", she asked.

He shook his head and stared at the floor.

"Getting some fresh air would be good for you, Carl", Rick said, coming out of the screen door with Judith in his arms.

Carl sarcastically said, "I'm outside, aren't I?", rolling his eyes.

Rick raised his eyebrows in surprise and nodded towards Enid, silently encouraging her to get him to go, as he sat down on the porch chair, quieting Judith as she fussed in his lap.

Enid picked up on it. "Hey, Carl, look what I found," she said, running up the stairs and sitting next to him so fast and so close that he stiffened up, startled and uncomfortable.

"Daryl found a few houses that haven't been scavenged yet and they were full of supplies. You'll never guess what I got for you." She held her hand inside her messenger bag with a sly smile and staring intently at Carl.

A few moments passed, "Well, are you going to tell me or keep staring at me?", Carl said, annoyed.

"Come on, you have to guess!", she said, smiling and hitting him on the knee.

He let out a deep sigh and said, "I don't know, Enid. I give up".

She frowned sightly and thought for a moment, "I'll give you a hint...it's your favorite thing in the whole wide world and also your most hated."

He gave her a puzzled look. He was about to give up again but then he stopped as she pulled something out of her bag, covering it with her hands and then placing it on the bench, uncovering it quickly and exclaiming, "Ta-da!"

It was a pack of chocolate pudding.

He looked at her as she burst into laughter.

"You think that's funny?", he said trying to sound angry but a hint of a smile escaped the corner of his mouth.

She nodded, covering her mouth and trying not to laugh anymore. "You told me about that big can of pudding and how much you ate of it and then got sick on it and so when I saw this in the supply, I couldn't help but think of you", she said, stifling her laughter.

"You think that's really funny, don't you?", he said again, reaching for the pudding and tearing back the foil lid. He stuck his finger into it and smeared some onto Enid's cheek.

She squealed, "Hey! Don't waste it!", she yelled.

He started to eat some, "Want some?", he asked, smiling?

She grabbed another pudding pack from her bag, opening it. "Naw, I got my own."

She quickly stuck her finger in it and leaned over, running it all over Carl's nose.

"Hey!", he exclaimed, trying to sound mad but instead burst into laughter. They started flinging the pudding at each other and laughing like two kids in a mud puddle.

They were both laughing hysterically when they suddenly heard, "What are you two doing?", It was Daryl coming up the porch with a string of rabbits slung over his shoulder, shaking his head at them. Their faces were covered in chocolate pudding but they were still giggling.

Denise came out and saw it, trying not to laugh she said, 'Carl, you better come in and let me change that bandage."

"Yeah, sure.", he answered, standing and walking towards Denise before stopping and calling to Enid, "Hey, if you want to wait a minute, I'll come with you to walk the perimeter."

She smiled and nodded, "I'm going to get cleaned up first and then I'll meet you back here."

Rick heard the screen door close and mused, "That's the first time I've heard Carl laugh in a long time."

Daryl had sat down, stretching his legs out and resting his hands on top of his head, "Yeah, that girl is good for him.", Daryl replied.


End file.
